Everyone Was Obsessed With Me After I Became the Youngest Princess Favourite - Chapter 297

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Gasp!”
My eyes snapped open as I gasped for breath in desperate, ragged gulps.
As though I’d been submerged underwater for far too long, my lungs screamed for air.
I was terrified that my breathing might stop at any moment.
The vivid memory of death lingered still, its afterimage refusing to fade.
“Sister!”
“Lia, are you alright?”
Diana and Raezl gripped my shoulders, attempting to calm me.
“Here, drink some water, sister.”
Though my agitation was slow to subside, I accepted the cup Diana held to my lips and forced myself to swallow.
Then I placed my trembling hand against my chest.
I’d worried that if my heart remained frozen like that final memory…
Fortunately, it was beating perfectly fine—in fact, it was pounding wildly, as though I’d been sprinting at full speed.
In the meantime, Diana wiped my eyes and forehead with a handkerchief.
Only then did I realize my face was a mess of tears and perspiration.
Feeling as though I might collapse at any moment, I leaned my head against Diana’s shoulder.
‘Experiencing death truly is an agonizing ordeal.’
Perhaps it was because the Demon had tormented me so relentlessly until the very end.
I found myself grateful to Jack, who in my previous life had pierced my heart in a single, merciful stroke.
In any case, merely recalling death was this exhausting—if the pain had accompanied the recovery of my memories as I’d originally anticipated, that time would have been absolute Hell.
With that thought, I finally understood why Diana had tried so hard to stop me.
After a moment, once Diana noticed my breathing had steadied, she asked in a sorrowful voice.
“Sister, was it very difficult?”
“Yes. Because of me, all those people…”
I couldn’t bring myself to speak of the deaths of those I’d come to regard as family, and my lips trembled.
Diana spoke firmly, as though to comfort me.
“It’s all just the past now.”
Of course, I understood that intellectually.
Yet for me, having only just recovered my memories, those who had lost their lives protecting me and all those who had fought fiercely in the Saint’s War were vividly, undeniably real.
‘At least…’
Now they were all living new lives, free from the anguish and suffering of those days.
And I was grateful that I had recovered my memories.
When Raezl first told me about Splecia, he said that everyone except the Demon Worshippers owed me a great debt.
But I had never possessed such power through my own ability, and I didn’t believe I was remarkable enough to deserve such sacrifice from so many.
Rather, I felt only remorse for having forgotten those who had given their lives for me.
Though it was far too late, I closed my eyes in mourning for them and released a heavy sigh—when suddenly I came to my senses and asked.
“What happened to that child?”
“Hm?”
“That child…”
My body’s excitement had subsided, but my mind, freshly flooded with recovered memories, remained in turmoil.
I quickly shook my head and met Diana’s gaze directly.
“You’re talking about Lucio. That nameless boy I saw for the last time before I died—it was Lucio, wasn’t it?”
Though I’d already been certain, I asked to confirm, and Diana slowly nodded.
“So it was true…”
The voice of the boy wailing in despair still echoed faintly in my ears, and my chest ached at the memory.
‘They said Lucio resented me…’
Now I understood why.
Because he witnessed me drawing my last breath before him. Not just once, but twice.
I felt a twinge of resentment toward fate that of all people, Lucio had to be the one to watch me die.
“Back then… I didn’t know what Lucio thought of me.”
It wasn’t just Lucio.
I had understood only half of what those who followed me felt at that time.
Foolishly optimistic and bright as I was, no matter how painful or sorrowful things became, I never abandoned hope until the very end.
Even standing at the cliff’s edge, I never felt abandoned by the world, and I never lost the will to live, never once thought “I wish I were dead.”
So I didn’t know how much meaning the hand I extended back then held for those who were despairing.
But now I do.
‘Because I experienced it all in my past life.’
I even remained loyal to my enemy, believing them to be my savior.
That’s why now I could fully understand the hearts of those who risked their lives for me and the despair of that boy.
‘So I can’t help but worry about what happened after I died…’
Even though it was the past, my heart still ached as Diana said, so I asked with a trembling voice.
“Tell me, Diana. What happened to Lucio?”
Diana hesitated, then lifted the corners of her mouth and spoke playfully.
“Oh my! Older Brother told me not to tell you!”
“He told you not to tell me?”
I couldn’t believe he’d not only deflected my question but also asked Diana to keep it from me.
A mixture of slight betrayal and growing anxiety made my expression serious.
Diana quickly continued, as if to reassure me.
“As you know, Older Brother isn’t the type to brag or boast about his accomplishments.”
“That’s true, but… boast?”
I tilted my head at the unexpected word.
“Yes, boast! He must have been embarrassed. Since you’ve recovered your memories now, you’ll understand if you think about it a bit… but let me tell you first. Older Brother is the very first Sword Master!”
Diana exclaimed as if trying to surprise me.
Certainly, since it was the first time hearing this, I was surprised.
But I quickly understood.
Lucio was a Sword Master in this life too, and he controlled mana so masterfully that even I, who was fairly confident in my own mana manipulation, was left speechless.
Above all, as Diana said, having recovered ancient memories, I could only nod in agreement.
If divine power manifested in those not poisoned by Demon Beast venom, then mana manifested in those whose lives were saved through Splecia, didn’t it?
Lucio was freed from Demon Beast poison through the Splecia I first cultivated.
Thus, it was only natural that he became the first to nurture a seed of mana, manifest an aura, and achieve the rank of Sword Master.
“Then Lucio really….”
Apart from understanding, I murmured softly at the thought that my hypothesis had a high probability of being correct.
Diana seemed anxious and answered without noticing my slightly garbled words.
“That’s right, it’s amazing! You might think it’s natural since he was the first to detoxify a Demon Beast’s poison, but still, becoming a Sword Master was thanks to your brother’s talent, effort, and willpower!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes! Honestly… mana was the cause that killed my sister, you know. So not just your brother, but everyone felt guilt and disgust. Of course, there were also people who felt aversion to the very concept of demonic power.”
But Diana said that Lucio, while despising ‘mana’ the most, accepted that power faster than anyone else and strove to become stronger.
I bit my lip.
“He was seeking revenge.”
“Yes. But his desire for revenge became the driving force that kept him alive. Thanks to your brother, we were able to carve a path even to the Demon Realm more smoothly than expected, and as a result, I believe we were able to achieve victory in the Holy-Demon War.”
To confront demons, holy power would be far more effective than mana, which was originally demonic in nature, but at least the Demon Beasts summoned by demons could be dealt with using mana, so Lucio must have played that role admirably.
I understood well enough what Diana wanted to convey to me.
She wanted to say that Lucio hadn’t suffered as much as I worried, and that he had lived well.
But I had already sensed it.
Tears streamed down my cheeks.
“Then after the revenge was over?”
“…What?”
“That person is Lucio. The one from the legend of the snow flower, the one who died from mana runaway.”
In fact, I had felt a strange premonition from the moment Diana brought the Splecia flower, saying it would help me recover my memories.
When Diana, awakened as a Saint, said she would purify Lucio, who had lost his memories of me through demonic sorcery, I remembered that she had borrowed the snow flower from me for a moment.
“Isn’t that right, Diana?”
I closed my eyes tightly as I watched Diana, unable to answer with a bewildered expression.
That Lucio, who had controlled mana well enough to become a Sword Master even in the past, had met his end through mana runaway. The meaning was clear.
He had caused the runaway himself.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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